Mind Over Matter
by Nyphetamine
Summary: If Bella loses her fight against Edward, she must marry him. But she doesn't want to. Soon after a small fall out, Bella must decide if winning is the best solution. Oneshot


_'I have to stay steady on my feet… loosing is a bad idea… Because if I do lose… I'll be stuck with him forever… and I don't want to be._'

Bella carefully got up from her bed and pulled out a box of old clothes. She ran her fingers over all of the fabrics, deciding which one was thin enough for smooth movement.

'_Why Edward of all the people? It's assumed that I'll lose this fight… I'm a horrible fighter and he isn't… But if I do lose…'_ Bella shivered visibly and pulled out her pants and top and removed her light, transparent pajama gown, replacing it with lose, silk fighting garments that allow for graceful movement. But Bella hardly thought that clothes could save her from her natural clumsiness.

'_Lord save me… He's so strange… and I am too ordinary for him…'_ Her mind dwindled on those thoughts, questioning why exactly he was so strange and perfect compared to her. She eventually grew dazed in her mind as she silently walked, paying no attention to the ground in front of her.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. Bella Swan, of course."

She lifted her head and glared straight ahead at a fairly tall, thin, yet muscular man with dark, disarrayed hair and black eyes. His skin stood out boldly, as pale as it was.

"Edward… can't you please leave me alone? Isn't it enough that I'll most likely become your wife?"

"Oh no worries. For you see… your scent is far too sweet for me… Why… it might be your scent that attracts me to you. So I'm here to offer you a deal."

Bella narrowed her eyes at him, but stepped closer to him anyways.

"And this deal might be…?"

"I'll train you today and make you stronger. And then you'll be able to at least act like you can beat me. Tomorrow I will make it obvious that I want you to win by not trying at all. And no worries. Your life won't have to be put in danger by being involved with the likes of me."

Bella stared at him, realizing he too had been thinking of ways out of the fight.

"Why would you do that…?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" His eyes gleamed with amusement. "I. Don't. Want. You. To. Get. Hurt. By. Me."

Bella rolled her eyes before retorting to his ridiculous taunting.

"You couldn't have enunciated it better. You. Don't. Want. Me. In. Your. Life. Until. We. Die." Every word was carefully pronounced, for the benefit of not having to repeat herself like he had to do.

He grinned a crooked grin as he held out his hand to her.

"So it's a deal?"

Bella could simply stare at his face in amazement at his awkward perfection and instead of speaking, she opted for the nod and recede in the opposite direction approach. But before she could gracefully leave, which she was actually succeeding at, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his body silently.

"What the hell, Edward?"

He lowered his head to the crook of her neck silently and breathed in deeply.

"Sweet… My _la tua cantante_…" He moved his eyes to meet hers and smiled that crooked smile again and backed away from her, his eyes smoldering as eventually his chagrin took over and he bounded off in the opposite direction yelling out instructions without glancing back at her.

"Meet me outside in the small park in half an hour! Bring all of your materials and be ready to work!" With that last word, he turned the corner and left Bella confused and dazed in the middle of the narrow hall way.

"His _singer?_" Her thoughts towered over her logic as she pondered on what he could have possibly meant. "Why would he call me that…" Bella turned and started to walk the opposite of the direction he had chosen, but this time she managed to meet the tiled floor. "Ugh… face meet floor, floor meet face… not that you haven't already met before…" Bella growled softly and pushed herself back up, brushing off her dirty costume.

Shuddering as she remembered Edward's cryptic sentence, Bella took off for her training room and gathered all of the equipment she might need. She wasn't sure what to expect with such a strange man, but as long as it would help her get out of marrying him, she was fine.

Stumbling with the effort, Bella headed back outside to the open park and threw everything on the ground, falling on top of it all, exasperated.

"That's beautiful and all, _la tua cantante, _but we really need to work."

Bella rolled over onto her back and stared up at him, taken aback slightly by his entourage, but managed to utter a protest.

"But I took all that effort to get here carrying this crap, and I didn't fall once! At least let us celebrate my sudden gracefulness!"

He laughed heartily, the first time she had ever seen or heard him in a human way, rather than a god-like way.

"Bella, you really do intrigue me… No wonder they assumed you would be the perfect choice… You may not have strength… But you could certainly out wit me in a battle of the mind. You're pretty observant… and not only that, you've gained my heart. Well no… Not my heart… But that hollow in which a beating heart _should _be."

Bella scrutinized his complex face, conveying a google amount of emotions she had never seen before. The most appealing thing in him was his sudden change in eye color. Gold seemed to move in an intricate pattern through his irises, showing clearly against the dark black canvas.

"Hollow? Do you not have a heart?"

"Oh I do… Just not one like yours…"

Edward swiftly moved to sit beside her and pulled her up so that she was sitting and carefully placed his head on her chest on top of her heart.

"Mine does not beat like yours… It is simply cold…" He looked up at her and smirked at the rise of blood in her cheeks. "I'm sorry.. Have I embarrassed you?"

"N-no", stuttered Bella, surprised my his sudden contact and his icy skin.

His smirk faded into a crooked smile as he pushed her down and bolted up.

"Good. So you're ready to train?"

Bella jumped up, nodding as she steadied herself and grabbed a staff.

"We won't be killing each other, right?"

"I'm training you to look better than me, not to be better than me. You really think I'd hurt you? That would make you too tough." Edward bent over and picked up his own staff and looked at her. "But be ready for a few bruises, yes."

Bella grimaced and stepped forward, her arm extended with the staff, half defensive and half offensive.

"Then bring it!" her threat was more of a breathy defeat before the training had even begun, and it made Edward chuckle slightly before he took to her feet and swiftly knocked her backwards with his staff.

"One point for the vam- I mean cold hearted man."

Bella growled softly and stood up, brushing off her butt and twirling her staff around.

"I don't care if you owned me the first round! Round two is mine!"

This time, Bella didn't hesitate as she moved forward and crashed down on his head, just to be blocked when he raised his staff and knocked her to the side. She growled and steadied herself, heading for his torso, which he quickly moved to defend, but she changed her mind quickly, jabbing him with the bottom end of her staff in the knee. His knee cap moved back as he fell over, gripping his knee.

"One point for the little girl… Who almost broke my leg…" He sighed and got back up, not so graceful as he had been moving before.

"I thought you were training me, not giving me a workout."

"Ah true. But that was interesting enough." Edward moved swiftly behind her and placed his hands over hers on her staff. "But your posture is all wrong."

"Mine? Perhaps it is yours, Mr. Perfect."

"How can it be mine if I'm Mr. Perfect?"

Bella sighed in defeat and adjusted her hands under his, glancing as his smirk turned into a soft smile.

"What do you find amusing, perfect one?"

He was hesitant in his answer, weighing all of his responses carefully before answering.

"Just your timid ness. It's rather attractive."

Bella blushed softly and quickly moved her staff down onto his toes.

"Pervert!"

"I am not a pervert." Edward let go of her hands and pushed her forward, laughing when she managed to meet the ground… again. "In fact, I find everything you do attractive. But not to me. Rather… to my arch nemesis, Mike."

Bella looked up at him and bounced back up.

"Mike likes me?"

Edward rolled his eyes half way and answered in a slightly defeated tone.

"Duh, Bella."

Bella pursed her lips as she challenged the thought silently.

"Don't tell me you like him just like all of the other girls."

"I can't really… What would Jessica say? She like… loves him or something…"

Edward leaned forward so that his nose was pressed against Bella's and smiled a half smile.

"Love. What would you say if a man told you he loved you?"

"I'd die in embarrassment. I mean… That would be so… wonderful, but it would be so… I'd feel embarrassed to be thought of that way."

Edward smirked slightly and then took on a straight face before bracing her shoulders gently with his finger tips.

"Bella, I love you with all my… hollow… ness…"

Bella stared at him in disbelief.

"Edward…?"

He chuckled darkly and let go of her shoulders.

"Just kidding!" He laughed heartily again and watched as her cheeks flamed red.

"H-How dare you toy with a girls heart like that! That had to be the lowest---"

"Ah but it shouldn't bother you unless you have feelings for me… Which I doubt.", interjected Edward, slightly detesting himself for making that joke, but reveling in her reaction.

"Ah shut up you jerk and train me!" Bella glared at him and jabbed him in the stomach with her staff.

"Feisty now? Well then, now that you've got the hands right…" Edward stopped to think for a minute before throwing himself to his knees and looking up at her.

"W-What? Now you're going to… propose too? You're full of it, aren't you!"

Edward started laughing and shook his head.

"I'm not proposing." Edward set his ice cold hands on her legs and pulled them apart quickly, moving her feet to face more outward as opposed to their previous, inward, position. "And now you're all set for posture."

Bella blushed at her mistake and readied herself.

"Then bring it on for round three!"

Edward gave her a sideways glance before standing up in front of her and breathing in deeply once again.

"As you wish, my dear."

Bella grimaced and decided to swing her staff into his side.

"You're a pervert, whether you believe it or not!" Bella 'hmph'ed and turned away from him while Edward stood swiftly to his feet, yet again.

"Perverted or not, you are being ridiculous. I could beat you in a fight even if I had my grandmother stand in and fight for me."

'_Though my grandmother is only 26…'_, thought Edward, smirking slightly at the memory.

"Ugh, you are absolutely full of yourself!" Bella balanced all of her weight on her left foot, burying the edge of her staff into the grass before lifting her right leg and almost kicked him in the face. But Edward raised his right arm and gripped her foot before she could complete her plan.

"What a compromising position, little one."

Bella grimaced and tried to wiggle her foot free from his grasp, failing miserably.

"Just let me win!"

"Not right now." Edward leaned forward, never loosening his grip on her foot, and touched his nose to hers. "Shouldn't you have stumbled by now?"

"Not with your unrelenting hold on my damn foot, you bastard!"

Edward closed his eyes for a moment, and if Bella hadn't of known better, she would have assumed him to be a cold, marble statue.

"I'll go get the soap." Edward opened his eyes and stared at Bella with a serious look on his face.

"Soap? For what?" Bella was confused, but she was glad that it meant he'd release her.

"To clean that nasty mouth of yours. But you're wrong. I have a father. I can't really be a bastard."

"You know what I meant by bastard!" Bella struggled in his grip again, and finally managed to pull herself away from him, falling to the ground and cracking her head hard against the grass. Luckily it was fairly soft. "Ouch, dammit!"

Edward watched her in an amused fashion, bending down and twisting his arm around hers, pulling her up gently.

"Perhaps you're drunk. Your equilibrium seems… off track."

"My 'equilibrium' is just find, Mr. High and Mighty!" Edward grinned at her, pulling her against his chest. Bella stared off to the side, her head being frozen from shock.

"Edward…?"

"Shh…", he cooed. "Stay silent and still for the moment."

Bella blinked and moved her eyes to look around them. It was peaceful… why was he suddenly being affectionate?

Bella jumped as his hand moved to her back, stroking her gently. It was reassuring, but so out of place.

Edward stared over Bella's head and slowly entwined his fingers into her hair. He watched as people stopped to stare at the near castle.

'_Why now of all times… It's wrong… And we have to fight tomorrow! I'm showing my true affections now, and I don't wish to…' _Edward's thoughts trailed off as he got an idea of how to use this misfortune to his advantage.

"Welcome, everyone!"

Edward grimaced and starting kissing Bella's ears gently, disposing of her ability to hear anything for the short moment.

"Edward, what's happening?" He shook his head and kissed her lips gently.

"Shut up for now, Bella." She stared out at the tree that was to her right. What could possibly be happening? "I'll tell you everything… later."

Edward watched as the large group of people headed down the hall, facing their demise without knowing it. It would have amused him if it wasn't such a sick thing to do.

'_And if they find out that I have this girl here near their lands…' _Edward shuddered against her frail body and pulled her away from him.

"Are you alright, Bella?"

"I should be asking you… What happened? Why were you being so… _romantic_?"

Edward shook his head and pulled her down to the ground so that she was sitting right beside him.

"You see… I felt the need to lead you on… and now perhaps you'll be pissed enough to try and fake a win!"

Bella stared at him and growled softly.

"How could you do that? What if I had truly fallen in love with you? You would have just broken my heart!" Bella stood abruptly and turned toward the castle, watching the last small group of people trail away inside. "I'm going to end you tomorrow at the arena, Edward. Just you wait!" With her last words said, Bella bounded off for her home, not stopping to grab her weapons.

"If only you knew…" Edward stood quickly and picked up all of the materials they had brought, dragging it all back into his room near the top of the tower. That room above the one where all of the human prey had been taken.

Where Bella might have been taken if it wasn't for Edward protecting her identity.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I can't believe him!", stormed Bella, kicking the old box of clothes she had left in the center of her room. "Leading me on just to piss me off! Well it worked!" Bella growled and threw herself down on her bed.

Her eyes scanned her room. She had noticed a slight panic in his voice when he had told her to shut up, kissing her lips and her ears. Was he hiding something?

Bella stopped to think rationally for a moment and rose to her feet soon after.

"Maybe… he was… helping me…?" Bella stepped out of her room and walked down the royal hall, stopping outside of her father's study.

"Charlie?" Bella waited as silence met her question. She preoccupied herself with watching dust fly around her, knowing he'd be at the door soon.

"Yes, Bella dear?" Charlie came to the door and opened it for her, inviting her in.

It was always amusing for Bella to sit in the stool by his desk and analyze his face, new wrinkles adding to his forehead every day.

"What was going on at the medieval castle by the park?"

Charlie watched her twiddle her thumbs and then slowly shifted back, flipping through some papers and pulling out a part of some extensive research.

"It's a mystery what really happens in there… Perhaps it's why you find Edward so strange." He read through the paper, refreshing his memory and then glanced back at Bella's face.

She wanted a full answer.

"Once a year, they gather regular simpleton people and they pull them into the castle, telling stories of mythical creatures and wars between… vampires and werewolves."

Bella blinked, comprehending very little, as those things didn't exist…

"The people walk into a big room where there's supposed to be a beautiful display… But they are never seen again after they walk into that room once." Charlie shifted in his chair and leaned forward, propping himself up with his elbows on the desk. "It's a myth, but many people think of them as vampires."

Bella blinked and stood up.

"Thank you… I'll go look into it…"

Charlie nodded and stood to open the door for her again.

"No thank you. I got it." Bella stepped out of the room, staring at the ground.

It was too much to ever imagine that vampires are real… But was Edward superstitious? No… He lives in that castle. He knows the truth.

Bella stumbled into her room and sat on the edge of her bed silently.

"So how long did it take you to notice something was… off?"

Bella jumped and turned her head to find a lovely young lady with short, lack hair framing her perfect, pale face. Her beauty rivaled Edwards.

"Off with what?" Bella didn't understand why the woman was there, but decided to question what she meant rather than why she was there.

"The Cullen family. Haven't you noticed that we're all just a little strange?"

Bella blinked.

"Are you Edward's sister?" The woman nodded, signaling for Bella to continue. "So are you confirming the stories… of strange things going on in your home?"

The girl laughed.

"bad things do happen in there, but it's not something for you to worry about. Edward is watching you, making sure nothing happens to you or your father. You see… Edward kind of has a thing for you."

Bella stared at the girl with wide eyes.

"He… does?"

The girl laughed, a shrill, bell sound, and nodded.

"Your blood attracts him to you."

"So you're also confirming that your family is a bunch of vampires?"

The girl stopped laughing and nodded.

"My name's Alice, by the way. Edward didn't want me to tell you anything about it. He was trying to protect you earlier today while he was training you… You see… We, the Cullen clan, do not survive off of human blood. But the people who own the castle do. So once a year, they'll gather humans for a mass murder. They can't help it… But Edward and I both advise you stay away from them…"

"But Alice… If I was to lose that fight and marry your brother… wouldn't I end up living near them?"

Alice shook her head.

"The deal was that you would both live here with your father. Our castle is very crowded with all of the vampire clans that stay there. I believe… that you should win this fight though. For you have no feelings for Edward at all… even if you are his _singer._"

Bella stopped thinking at that word and questioned it, finally.

"What's this crap about being a _singer_?"

Alice smiled momentarily.

"Your blood is like a siren to him… You smell sweet to him, and he's drawn to that scent. He's gained composure over it, but he used to imagine how he could kill you and drink you dry. Amusing, sometimes…"

Bella cringed.

"Oh don't get the wrong message! He's fallen for you… Especially after today… So don't take it all the wrong way… and weigh your choices. If you win tomorrow, you don't ever have to touch him or see him again. If you lose tomorrow, you an become his beloved wife forever. You decide tonight, and make sure you do what you believe is best for yourself tomorrow."

With her final words spoken, Alice disappeared and Bella sat wondering if she had ever really been there at all.

After Bella thought it over for a moment, she decided what she would do the next day, and laid down on her bed, falling into a soundless, carefree sleep.

Just how life should be.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dressed in her silkiest fighting outfit, Bella moved out of her room and down the steps.

"Bella, are you prepared?" Bell could see the distress in her fathers eyes. He didn't want his daughter to marry anyone. It warmed her heart, but prepared her all the more for what she was going to do.

"Yes I am. After training yesterday, I feel I can do what's best for me and for society. I think I'll be happy with the results."

To Charlie, this response was her way of saying 'I'll kick his ass', and it made him feel relieved to say the least.

"That's my girl!"

Bella laughed and finished up her glass of milk before running out the door.

They'd be needing to finish up her fighting outfit and then they'd have to prepare her for the fight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Bella peaked through the curtain into the arena and watched as people came to fill in the benches around the outside wall. It was a great turnout, but it wouldn't be much of a fight. Bella shifted her gaze to her competitors side and caught a glimpse of golden, shimmering eyes staring out at her through that curtain.

A blush flooded her cheeks as she swiftly closed the curtain and went to her mentor, who calmed her down quickly.

"Now, will the competitors please step out!"

She breathed in as the announcer called her and Edward out to the arena and stepped out, not so very graceful as she began to stumble towards the center.

Edward had beat her there, of course, and held out his hand.

"Shake hands", bellowed the man.

Bella reached her hand our and allowed her hand to snake around his, shaking once and then pulling away silently.

"now let the fight begin!"

Edward steadied himself into his normal 'correct' posture and watched as Bella picked through her brain, moving a step back and preparing just in case he attacked.

"Edward, why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie and say you were leading me on, when really you were protecting me from knowing the rotten truth about your household being vampires, and the mass murder of humans?"

Edward moved his eyes upward, catching the gaze of Alice, who looked away, smiling slightly, nervously.

"Bella, you bought into stupid myths?"

"But it's true! I can tell by the look you gave your sister, Alice just now!"

Edward growled and moved towards Bella slowly.

"I didn't want you to know… I didn't want to lose you as at least a friend…"

"You won't", promised Bella as she lifted her self to full height, rather than the slight crouching posture she had before and smiled at him.

Edward lifted his eyes to her face and frowned.

"What are you planning?"

Her eyes flickered momentarily as she closed her eyes and remembered the dreams she had had the night before starring Edward and herself, deeply and madly in love.

"I have one the to say!", Bella hollered over the crowd who all shut up abruptly.

"Edward Cullen…"

Bella dropped her staff, watching as Edward contemplated through his emotions. And to the dismay of a had-been-satisfied Charlie, Bella added…

"You win."


End file.
